AI Sol Review

[Aquattro]

I got home in time to actually see the lights on today. After the trial of attempting 3 units on the 180 and seeing it was obviously not enough, I added 3 more for a total of 6 Sol Blue units (Black casing).

I have replaced 3 x 400w Radium MH bulbs in lumenarc mini reflectors.

Thoughts so far...the color of the light is nice, maybe nicer than the radium bulbs. 6 units at 75% are fairly bright, but I'll ramp to 100% over the next week. That will still not compare to the MH bulbs in top of the line reflectors.

Color separation between white and blue still clearly evident, but that's a LED thing, not specific to any fixture.

My controller showed 12amp running the halides, it now shows 0.6amp. Substantial savings there. My chiller also hasn't come on in a week. Nice!

No more fans in my canopy, so I can turn the volume down on the TV. another nice feature.

Light quality - Unfortunately I have to say the light from the MH was far better for coral color than LED. I can see differing shades flickering in the corals as the lights hit it through the water shimmer. Some look like cuttlefish flashing. A couple of pieces are nicer, but some of my favorites are lacking the pop they had. Pink lemonade is lacking the brilliant yellow. Some of the blues and purples are washed out. Not much, most people would still say wow, but I notice the difference.
The sand bed has a couple of focused blue spots here, some white over there.

Most of these issues are not Sol specific, if any. While LED is certainly the way of the future, I'm sure I'll miss the color that the radiums gave. It just doesn't compare.

Overall, the Sols themselves are good solid units, well made, easy to setup, even via the Apex controller. No heat, don't have to replace bulbs, although I should start saving now for the day I need to replace the entire units Great price compared to other similar products, and I think the best value for my dollar given my needs.
I've seen other tanks without as noticeable points above, but those either had DIY units or Vertex units with a lot more LED bulbs, which probably minimizes these effects.
I don't think I'll be sorry I went LED in the long run, but sitting in front of the tank right now is a bit sad...don't get me wrong, it still looks great, but it's just not the same as Radiums....

I'll update my thoughts on this in a month